


It's Worth It

by AraniWrites



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Gen, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, platonic friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-24
Updated: 2017-01-24
Packaged: 2018-09-19 15:57:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9449171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AraniWrites/pseuds/AraniWrites
Summary: A little oneshot about the friendship between Mordin Solus and my OC Shepard, Leanne. I hope y'all enjoy it!





	

“EDI tells me my son has spent quite a bit of time here.”

“He is fascinated with the lab.”

“Has he been a problem?”

Mordin let out a choked laugh, “Problem? Quite the opposite. Elijah is a smart boy, inquisitive, fantastic potential and well mannered. Touches nothing without permission. Asks thoughtful questions. Reminds me of my Nephew. Says he wants to help, I told him to get your permission first.”

Leanne chuckled and shook her head, “So that’s why he’s been so helpful all of the sudden, silly kid. He has my permission as soon as he asks.”

“Intelligent tactic for a child.”

“Teacher’s pet through and through. He’s learned from the best.”

“Alice?”

“Alice. My sister has a knack of persuasion.”

It was becoming routine for both of them. Leanne leaned into the wall and stared into space while Mordin worked. They just talked; about anything, sometimes for hours at a time over coffee and their daily duties. It was comforting, a quiet norm in the face of the chaos the Collectors brought. Their shot at something ordinary.

“Have you heard from Omega?”

“Not recently, not worried. Mechs will keep them safe.”

“Hmm. Alright.”

Calming. Ordinary. Mordin took a deep breath; he knew it wouldn’t stay that way forever. Something nagged at the back of his mind, an answer he’d never gotten out of her. He didn’t want the normality to end without it.

“Wanted to ask your opinion on my past employment.” He started, steadily working through his samples. The hospital on Tuchanka had shaken them both, and he’d not brought it up until that moment. Was it apprehension? No. Preposterous. He’d never cared for others opinions before.

“There’s not much to say Mordin.”

“I can think of many responses.”

“I have to stay neutral, you know that.”

“Shepard.” He sighed and stopped his work, turning around to face her. He crossed his arms and leaned comfortably against the table, as he did whenever he gave her his full attention. “Not asking a military woman. Asking a friend.”

She was silent. Mordin wasn’t sure what he expected; she truly was neutral. She very rarely stated personal opinions on anything, ever. She based everything she said on logic and experience over opinion. 

But she was silent a long time. And he waited.

“What do you want me to say? I wasn’t there.” She set aside her data pad and looked him in the eye; “Through a military mind I can understand exactly why the Genophage was introduced. At the time I probably would have agreed. But times change, and so do people.” She paused to gather her thoughts, letting out a slow breath, “Morally, personally, I would not have uplifted the Krogan at all. I would have let them evolve on their own. But the past can’t be changed. Regardless of what was done, I believe wholeheartedly in second chances.”

Mordin listened. It was so incredibly rare to hear her true thoughts on anything. He’d only heard them once before, so he listened now. Let her speak her thoughts, thoughts she’d likely never told anyone else.

“If the day presents itself where the Krogan can be cured, can have their second chance… I would support that. I’d help make it happen. They deserve that chance. There’s no meaning in second chances if you can’t put a little bit of faith in it.”

“You believe that?”

“I do.” She smiled again, “I’m not here to judge you Mordin. I’ve done things I’m not proud of in my lifetime, same as a lot of people. The Genophage was wrong; necessary at the time, sure, but it wasn’t right. However, I won’t judge you. We can’t change what happened in the past, but we can shape the future. Judgement, blame, that doesn’t bring about a bright future. The future we want to see, the kind of future I want for my son, is one of growth and acceptance and peace. That’s worth any risk.”

“… I see. Thank you, Shepard.”

“Leanne. I’ve told you that.”

“Noted, Commander.”

Just as she was about to fire back at his snark, EDI’s voice came over the com, “Shepard, Garrus would like to speak with you.”

“Thank you EDI.”

“Ah, Garrus.” Mordin smirked and turned back to his samples. “Go have your fun. Will be here working on samples, less mood music required. Didn’t send booklets to your cabin for nothing.”

Leanne gave him a dry laugh in return, “Jealous, Mordin?”

“Of your constant pestering and disruptive voice?”

“Love you too buddy.” She shook her head and moved to the doors.

“Don’t be too loud. Some of us have work to do.” He called after her.

“Bye Mordin.” Her voice was sharp and her back was turned completely as she raised her hand in a wave to him, but he could hear the smile through her voice.

A couple hours later, Elijah came bounding into his lab with a big smile and a cup of coffee. A note read _“You owe me the next one”_.

—

He hadn’t heard from her.

When the reports came in over the extranet, many of those in STG went through a brief period of stunned shock. Some images of the Reapers descending on Earth had escaped the Sol system. Mordin and his coworkers had crowded around one of their larger monitors and simply watched for a time. The destruction they were witnessing was on a scale none had ever dared imagine. There was work to be done, they knew that, but at that moment all of them realized one thing.

The Reapers were real. The Reapers were here. And soon, they would be advancing on Sur’Kesh. That their planet could soon be burning just as Earth was.

“Damn.” Kirrahe, ranked to Major now, stepped up beside Mordin, shaking his head at the footage. “She was right.”

“Some of us never doubted Shepard.”

“I know.” Kirrahe sighed, “I was one of them.”

“She’s on Earth.”

“Yeah. Probably right in the thick of it.”

“That would be the logical assumption.”

Mordin broke away from the monitors after a short time, taking the opportunity to find himself a quiet corner of the lab. He accessed the extranet and sent a priority message to Tuchanka; addressed to Urdnot Wrex.

_The future we want to see, the kind of future I want for my son, is one of growth and acceptance and peace. That’s worth any risk._

Maybe her words did strike a small chord.

—

“You’re playing politician now?”

Leanne gave him a light shove, trying not to laugh at the absurdity of it all. “Don’t even start Solus, I’ve just about had it with politics. They’re damn lucky I need their ships.”

The two were the only ones in the Lounge. It was late, so late that most of the ship was sound asleep. Eve had, to put it bluntly, forced Mordin to take a break after almost eighteen hours of non-stop work. Shepard, as usual, couldn’t sleep. They shared a bottle of cheap whiskey instead of coffee.

She looked so tired. Exhausted, depleted, broken. He couldn’t begin to imagine the strain she was under, the pressure to save the Galaxy from the Reapers. Too many saw her as the only one who could. Salarians were able to quickly handle such strain; humans, however, did not have that luxury.

“Where’s Alice?” He asked her, having avoided the topic with other ears around. It seemed more appropriate now that they were the only two there.

She frowned, the wear and tear prominent on her face. “I don’t know.” She confided, glancing between him, her glass and the window. “She was… in San Francisco when the Reapers hit. She was accepted into medical school. Said she wanted to be an army doctor, of all things. I haven’t heard from her, not with all that’s going on.”

What could he say? That she was safe? No, no one was safe, not even those on the Normandy. Not his family, or any family. “I’m sorry, Shepard.”

She took a deep breath, nodding in a desperate attempt to reassure herself. “Yeah, well.” She poured another half glass. “That’s war, isn’t it?” She took a sip, swirled it a moment. “God Mordin. It was… so fast. No one knew what was happening, when Luna base stopped reporting everyone panicked and…”

She took a moment to contain herself. He could see her trying very hard not to break down completely. “All the screaming. They just fell from the sky, and the-the people, they had no chance. No warning, nothing. Millions dead in seconds, _seconds_. So many people just trying to escape and our Soldiers dying needlessly, run down by husks and skyscrapers toppling wherever the Reapers stepped. And Palaven… The Turians were trying so hard but there were just too many of them. The planet was in flames, just as bad as Earth was. And all I could do was take away their Primarch. The Batarians have been nearly eradicated, Reapers are closing in on Tuchanka, half of the outer rim is just… dust. It’s all dust Mordin. And the council is sitting on the Citadel right now pretending it’s not even happening.”

She closed her eyes, “I never wanted this. Damn the fools who thought we were ready. If i’d just yelled a little louder, made more of a scene, maybe…”

“No.” Mordin placed his hand on her shoulder, squeezing to pull her from her own dark thoughts and to focus on his words. “Did what you could, Shepard. No one could be ready for this. It’s not your fault. Never said it would be easy, but the Reapers will be defeated.”

“You believe that?”

“I do.”

She sighed again and curled in on herself, staring into space with eyes so dead and gone he barely recognized them as hers. “Well if we do, I don’t think I’ll be the one alive to see it.”

—

“Control room at top of Shroud tower. Must take elevator up.”

“You’re going _up there?!_ ”

“Yes! Manual access required. Have to counteract STG sabotage. Ensure cure dispersed properly.”

Explosions shook the entire building, keeping them both a little off balance. She stared at him desperately. He could see that she was injured and was having trouble standing, but it seemed as if she could hardly feel the pain or the blood. “Mordin, this whole thing is coming apart! There’s got to be another way!”

He turned his back. He couldn’t look her in the eye, so he looked to the tower instead.

“Remote bypass impossible. STG countermeasures in place. No time to adjust cure for temperature variance.” He closed his eyes. “No. No other option. Not coming back. Suggest you get clear. Explosions likely to be… problematic.”

He moved to the elevator, stepped inside.

“Mordin, no!”

“Leanne, please. Need to do this.”

She was slack-jawed, but he would not be deterred.

“My project. My work. My cure. My responsibility.” He breathed, smiled for her. “Would have liked to run tests on the seashells.”

“… I’m sorry.”

“I’m not. Had to be me.”

The door closed. Leanne… was crying.

“Someone else might have gotten it wrong.”

The elevator lifted, and she was gone.

He breathed deeply as the elevator rose. The door opened to a scene of fire and carnage.

 _“Warning! Temperature malfunction detected!”_ Blared from the panel at the top, explosions trying to knock Mordin off his feet, but he pushed his way forward and to the control panel.

He typed furiously, humming to himself, desperately trying to stay calm. “I’ve studied species Turian, Asari and Batarian…”

_“Temperature now within acceptable range. Dispersal commencing.”_

He smiled, looking out the window as Golden dust began to fall from the sky. The cure. His cure.

_That’s worth any risk._

“My xenoscience studies range from urban to agrarian.”

_It’s worth it._

_It’s worth it._

“I am the very model of–”

—

Leanne was outside when a large explosion all the way at the top of the tower caught her attention. She sat there, leaning against rubble, holding her side and fresh out of medigel. Golden dust was falling from the sky. She raised her hand to it, the gold mixing with the red of her blood.

She sighed and closed her eyes. She was so tired, too tired. She let herself relax, barely hearing the truck approaching. All she wanted was to sleep.

This was one of the rare times she wondered, why wouldn’t God just let her die?

A few moments later, heavy footsteps called her back, and a shadow blocked the heat of Tuchanka’s sun. She forced her eyes open. Wrex was kneeling there in front of her, smiling.

“Hey. You’re not dead yet Leah.”

She managed to smile at him, watching the dust fall. “Nope. Feels like it though.”

“You’re tougher than that. C’mon, up.” He put her arm around his shoulders and picked her up off the ground, keeping her steady as she groaned and wobbled from the blood loss. “We need to leave before this tower falls apart.”

“Yeah.” She couldn’t bear to look back up there, but she could hear the explosions clear as day. “Mordin did it.”

“Yes. Yes he did. You both did.”

**Author's Note:**

> Wow it's been so long since I've posted anything here. I hope you guys enjoyed this and if you want more stories of Leanne just let me know =)


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